Experiencing DIA Amsterdam 2018

Experiencing DIA Amsterdam 2018

This year I had the pleasure of attending DIA Amsterdam2018 in May as a representative of InsFocus. As the largest insurtech event worldwide, I was one of about 1,200 attendees there to learn and share innovations in the insurance industry. It was inspiring to be in the same place as so many leading authorities in the insurance industry. Interacting with your peers from around the world brings a lot of new perspectives and insights that you don’t get at just any event. This fourth edition of DIA maintained the theme of setting the Digital Insurance Agenda for years to come, dedicated to accelerating the increasingly important digital transformation of the insurance industry. It was a great two-day experience full of networking and new insights, and I left the convention with new tools and resources for InsFocus.

Hosted in the Netherlands this year, about 80% of the people attending DIA Amsterdam were from Europe. As a worldwide event, there were also some attendees from the United States and Asia. Insurtechs are invited to the event for a show and tell of sorts on stage where they present innovations and new technology to the crowd. Companies can sign up for consideration, but DIA hand picks the best innovative companies to provide the best experience for attendees. This year, 50 insurtechs gave presentations, with three from Israel. The Israeli insurtechs were Gefen, Kovrr, and GO Insurance. GO Insurance is actually a product built in-house by Hachshara insurance, who is a customer of InsFocus. Watching a presentation about innovations led by one of our customers was a satisfying opportunity that made me proud as an attendee.

The insurtech presentations covered many innovation areas. I felt the strongest areas were on-demand insurance, customizable insurance products like Bsurance, comparison engines and insurance advisors like Comadso and Anorak, lifestyle improving to lower insurance risks like msgNETCONOMY, analytics like Data Robot, and core policy admin systems like Socotra. InsFocus was a part of the analytics field of insurance innovation. Each presentation was packed into 10 minutes, which made them easy to digest while being informative and concise. It was very helpful and interesting to see what other companies in our field are working on at the event.

Business aside, I thought the location of DIA Amsterdam was very interesting. The event was held in Gashouder, an old gas-tank turned into an event space. This kind of physical innovation paralleled the industry innovations being held inside. This definitely contributed to the event being an experience I won’t forget any time soon.

DIA advertises itself as a yearly shot of inspiration to speed up digital transformations in insurance firms, and I did feel inspired by the space, the insurtech presentations, and the people that I met. It was great to speak with other attendees and representatives, and I was able to bring back a list of companies to follow in order to continue establishing meaningful relationships in the industry.

With so many thought leaders and companies involved in DIA from around the world, this event was a great business opportunity. Innovation requires brilliant minds of all types coming together. Hopefully I will see some of you there next year!